When I lived in California, I had a Ducati 900SS. Awesome bike!

My Ducati 900SS, circa 2003. A bit beat up from track days and other various crashes.
My Ducati 900SS, circa 2003. A bit beat up from track days and other various crashes.

Fast forward 12 years. I’ve been living in New York (Brooklyn, then Manhattan) for the past ten years. New York is an extremely motorcycle-unfriendly city, so I stuck with mass transit. I’m now working at Pantone in New Jersey and the commute via NJTransit is awful. The mornings are fine, but coming home takes 2 1/2+ hours. The Lincoln Tunnel is one huge bottleneck come day’s end. I finally had my impetus to get back on a bike.

My first natural thought was, of course, to get back on a Ducati – a 748 in particular. However, after a lot of thought, I decided that this would not be a good choice in NYC. Not geared for commuting but more importantly, it would be a thief magnet. I’m also older and felt that maybe I should slow down.

I was quite aware of Triumph. I worked in SoHo near a Ducati/Triumph dealer but I was always checking out the Ducatis.

So, after much soul searching and googling, I set my sights on a Triumph Bonneville, circa 1963, and then I discovered that Triumph was producing the same style as a current model. Old school aesthetics with modern day construction. I was hooked.

I went to the SoHo dealer and tried to buy but they left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I searched around and came upon Westchester Motorcycles in White Plains and Gold Coast in New Hyde Park. My co-worker, Marnie, who loves Google Reviews recommended Westchester. Their reviews were great, Gold Coast’s were horrible . Plus, the Gold Coast logo. Seriously? A spread out woman on wheels? Even in the 1950s, that would have been stupid. When I saw that, I instantly crossed them off my list – I prefer forward thinking.

I called Westchester and spoke with Les, the owner. He was very friendly and accommodating and we concluded the entire transaction over the phone. At this point, I was very familiar with the bike and knew it was my choice. The following week, I went and picked it up and rode it home. Thanks, Les!

The façade of Triumph dealer Westerchester Motorcycles in White Plains, NY.
The façade of Triumph dealer Westerchester Motorcycles in White Plains, NY.

 

Where the magic occurs at Westerchester Motorcycles.
Where the magic occurs at Westerchester Motorcycles.
The staging area at Westerchester Motorcycles.
The staging area at Westerchester Motorcycles.
Official Triumph photo of 2014 Bonneville T100 Black
Official Triumph photo of 2014 Bonneville T100 Black
My 2014 Triumph Bonneville T100 at approximately 400 miles.
My 2014 Triumph Bonneville T100, approximately 400 miles.

And there you have it. I am now the proud owner of a 2014 Triumph Bonneville T100. 1960s flair with 2014 production values.

One thought on “BONNIE
My First Triumph”

  • Delboy

    Hey Rudy, brilliant blog, great photos and the bike looks ten times better with those new bars on! Over here we’ve always called those ‘ace’ bars, had some on my moped back in the 80’s and they were impossible to get till recently!

    If you find the ride position a little uncomfortable now you are slightly leant forward, a lot can be fixed by moveing the feet backwards with some rear sets… and as some of the after market sets can be hellishly expensive, the cheapest route to go is some second hand Thruxton pegs to complete the look! And that’s the thing with the Bonneville, the possibilities are endless……

    Keep at it mate, you have a beautiful bike and we look forward to seeing more blogs to come!

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